Forces from the France-led Operation Barkhane and its partner forces in the Sahel region of central Africa carried out an ‘unprecedented’ 17-day operation against ‘armed terrorist groups’ in Burkina Faso and Mali.

Between November 1 and 17, “the G5 Sahel Joint Force, the Armed Forces of Burkina Faso (FABF) and the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa), supported by Desert Battle Group ‘Steel’ conducted Operation Bourgou IV in the Déou area of Burkina Faso and Boulikessi area of Mali, the French Armed Forces ministry said in a Monday, November 18 release.

More than 1,400 soldiers from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and France took part in the operation, and more than half of those involved were from partner forces, “which represents an unprecedented participation in an operation of this magnitude,” the ministry said.

Operation Bourgou IV “resulted in 24 individuals, being put out of action,” and the seizure of 64 vehicles, around 100 phones, and ammunition.

Carried out simultaneously in Mali and Burkina Faso, the operation aimed to disrupt the logistics of “armed terrorist groups” and hinder their activity in the region.

FABF and the Barkhane force conducted reconnaissance in the Tofagala forest in northeast Burkina Faso, taking control of dozens of camps there and confirming the presence of armed terrorist groups, the ministry said.

On the night of November 7-8, a temporary base for Burkinabé and Barkhane forces was “harassed by armed terrorist groups,” the ministry said.

“Enemy combatants” were spotted a few hundred metres from the base, and warning shots were fired “to deter them from undertaking any attack.”

On its Facebook page, the French armed forces said 25mm cannon warning shots and 81mm mortar flare shells were fired were fired between 7 p.m. and midnight, but at about 1:30 a.m, a column of pick-up trucks was observed moving towards the temporary base.

French soldiers work to deter an attack on a temporary Barkhane base in Burkina Faso during Operation Bourgou IV, November 2019.

A French VBCI armored infantry fighting vehicle fires its 25 mm cannon to deter an attack on a temporary Barkhane base in Burkina Faso during Operation Bourgou IV, November 2019.

“A column of pick-up trucks that began its advance towards the bases” and was fired on by 25 mm cannon, machine guns, mortars and light infantry weapons, “forcing it to stop its assault and exfiltrate itself,” the ministry said.

In Mali, partner forces supported by Barkhane “contributed to the strengthening of the defences of the Boulikessi post.” Forests in the area were searched, “undermining the logistics of armed terrorist groups and hampering their supply chain.”

In Iate September, at least 40 Malian soldiers were killed in simultaneous raids claimed by al-Qaeda-linked JNIM in Boulikessi and Mondoro, near central Mali’s border with Burkina Faso, one of the deadliest attacks against Mali’s military in recent insurgent violence. The troops were from a battalion under G5 Sahel Joint Force command.

Former colonial power France has been trying to build international support for a new military force to work alongside its 4,500-strong Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism mission in the Sahel.

French plans for a new international special operations task force for the Sahel were first reported in early October, and on November 5, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said that France expected the new force – dubbed “Takuba” – to deploy in Mali by 2020. Around a dozen European states “have expressed an interest in taking part in this initiative,” a French Armed Forces spokesperson said.

Estonia is the first partner to confirm a special operations forces deployment to Takuba. A defense ministry spokesperson told The Defense Post that special forces will deploy to Mali in the second half of 2020 and that force will ‘assist, advise and accompany’ the Malian Armed Forces.

Last week, senior officials said the United States is seeking a meeting of the Coalition against ISIS early in 2020 to focus on threats in West Africa and the Sahel.International operations in the Sahel

In 2012 a Tuareg separatist uprising against the state was exploited by Islamist extremists linked to al-Qaeda who took key cities in Mali’s desert north.

France began its Operation Serval military intervention in its former colony early the next year, driving the jihadists from the towns, and the MINUSMA peacekeeping force was then established.

But the militant groups have morphed into more nimble formations operating in rural areas, and the insurgency has gradually spread to central and southern regions of Mali and across the borders into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Large swathes of Mali remain outside government control, and inter-ethnic bloodshed is a regular occurrence.

The U.N. says that since January more than 1,500 civilians have been killed in Burkina Faso and Mali, and more than one million people have been internally displaced across the five Sahel states – more than twice the number displaced in 2018. Access has become increasingly difficult, but 12 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Many armed groups are active in the Sahel region, including Islamic State-affiliated groups, but the majority of attacks are attributed to JNIM, which formed in March 2017 from a merger of several smaller groups including the Sahara branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine and al-Mourabitoun. JNIM’s leadership has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The Serval mission evolved in August 2014 into Operation Barkhane, and roughly 4,500 French troops are deployed in the region, including around 2,700 soldiers in Mali.

But Barkhane has a growing international dimension, with European partners sending more troops and equipment. Denmark is to send two helicopters and up to 70 troops to support Barkhane in December and Estonia is to almost double the size of its Barkhane contingent in 2020. Chinook helicopters from the United Kingdom currently support the operation.

Around 620 troops from 22 member states and five non-E.U. states work with the Malian Armed Forces and the FCG5S in European Union Training Mission – Mali, which has a mandate until May 2020. Around 14,000 FAMa personnel have been trained since the mission was established in 2013.

Earlier this month, AFRICOM said U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance flight operations had begun from Nigerien Air Base 201 in the northern city of Agadez.

A French air force Reaper drone fitted with GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs flies near Niamey airbase in Niger

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Barkhane operations between February 9 and 17 targeted Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliated militants

Around 50 militants were “neutralized” in actions carried out by the France-led Operation Barkhane targeting Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliated fighters in Mali, according to an Armed Forces Ministry release.

The operations, conducted in two phases between February 9 and 17 around the central town of Mopti, were the result of “preparatory work and intelligence gathering that made it possible to characterize with certainty the activity of armed terrorist groups,” the Thursday, February 20 release said.

Around 30 motorcycles and two pickup trucks were destroyed, and weapons, telephones and electronic equipment were seized during the actions.

In the first operation, carried out northwest of Mopti between February 9 and 10, airstrikes conducted by Reaper drones and Mirage 2000 jet fighter aircraft along with combat helicopter engagements “neutralized some 20 armed combatants” including an Islamic State in the Greater Sahara officer.

The French Armed Forces groups fighters killed, injured or taken prisoner under the terms “neutralized” or taken “out of action,” according to AFP.

A second action was carried out between February 16 and 17 south of Mopti, “in a region where Katiba Macina is rampant.”

Katiba Macina is one of the constituent groups of JNIM, which has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.

Airstrikes and helicopter fire were accompanied by a helicopter-borne assault, and “some 30 jihadist fighters were put out of action.”

“These two operations, with their very heavy material and human toll, weaken the offensive potential of the armed terrorist groups in this region,” the ministry said.FAMa ‘captures 3 foreign terrorist leaders’ near Mopti

On February 18, the day after the French action south of Mopti, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) tracked “terrorists” in the Somadougou area of the Mopti region, a FAMa release said.

“FAMa helicopters carried out precision airstrikes in the Somadougou sector as far as the village of Diallo on the Bankass road,” the release said.

Somadougou is around 28 km (17 miles) south of Mopti town, and Diallo is around 25 km further southeast.

“Several terrorists were killed, some weapons were abandoned, others destroyed,” and three “foreign terrorist leaders” were captured.

It is unclear whether the Barkhane and FAMa operations were related.

Earlier this week, the French ministry released information on two other Barkhane actions on February 8 and 13 near Hombori, which is around 280 km east of Mopti town.

Between February 6 and 7, the Barkhane force ‘neutralized’ around 20 terrorists “in the west of the Gourma region,” in an area where the “katiba is rampant.”

In mid-January, the ministry said more than 30 “terrorists” were “put out of action” in two commando operations in Mopti that apparently targeted Katiba Macina.Growing French presence in the Sahel

The French military presence in the Sahel began in 2013 with Operation Serval in Mali, and evolved in August 2014 into Operation Barkhane, which has a mandate for counter-terrorism operations across the region. The Barkhane force focuses activity in insurgent-hit Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, working alongside local troops and other international operations, including the regional G5 Sahel Joint Force (FCG5S), which comprises troops from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, and MINUSMA, the U.N. stabiliization mission in Mali.

Earlier this month, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said that the number of French troops deployed to the Sahel would increase from 4,500 to 5,100.

France and the G5 Sahel states in January injected new urgency into the counter-terrorism fight, announcing a new Coalition for the Sahel which will see increased coordination between French and local forces. Barkhane and FCG5S forces operating under joint command will focus on the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border zone, targeting Islamic State as a priority.

Barkhane is already building command coordination with Sahel Coalition partner forces, setting up dedicated coordination mechanisms in Niger’s capital Niamey and Chad’s capital N’Djamena, where Barkhane is headquartered, while Mali has launched Operation Maliko, a new counter-terrorism operation that will take into account cross-border, regional and international cooperation.

France has also been trying to build support for the new special operations Task Force Takuba that will train, advise, assist and accompany local forces in their fight against Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates in the region. Takuba will declare initial military capability in the summer and will be fully operational by the autumn.

France hopes that Takuba will comprise around 500 special forces personnel, according to Le Monde. The new French deployment will include around 50 special forces personnel who will form the nucleus of Takuba, Le Monde reported.

So far, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Sweden have announced plans to contribute to Takuba, and discussions with Finland and Norway are reportedly ongoing, but Germany and the U.S. have declined.

Belgium is to contribute three staff officers to Takuba according to the Belga news agency, but the current caretaker government’s Foreign Minister Philippe Goffin told AFP on February 13 that committing troops to such an operation would require a government with a full mandate, plus the approval of parliament.

Barkhane already has an international dimension, with European partners contributing troops and equipment. Estonia is to almost double the size of its force protection contingent this year, Denmark has deployed two Merlin helicopters, and three Chinook helicopters from the United Kingdom currently support the operation.

Islamist insurgents in the Sahel

The complex insurgency in the Sahel began in Mali in 2012, when a Tuareg separatist uprising was exploited by al-Qaeda-linked extremists who took key cities in the desert north. Former colonial power France began its Operation Serval military intervention the following year, driving the jihadists from the towns.

But the militant groups morphed into more nimble formations operating in rural areas, and the insurgency gradually spread to central and southern regions of Mali and then into Burkina Faso and Niger.

More than 4,000 people were reported killed in militant attacks in the three countries last year, according to the U.N., and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the spiraling violence in the Sahel has spread to coastal states of West Africa.

Many armed groups including Islamic State are active in the Sahel region, but the majority of attacks are attributed to JNIM, which formed in March 2017 from a merger of several smaller groups. JNIM’s leadership has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Since May 2019, ISIS has attributed insurgent activities in the Sahel area to ISWAP, its West Africa Province affiliate that split from Boko Haram in 2016, rather than to Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. ISWAP’s main area of operations is the Lake Chad area of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Macron has said the Sahel Coalition would prioritize the fight against ISIS in the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border area because it is the most dangerous.

Some of the reinforcements "will be committed directly" to G5 Sahel Joint Forces and will "accompany them in combat," Parly says

France is to boost the number of troops deployed to its Operation Barkhane counter-terrorism mission in Africa’s Sahel region to 5,100, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Sunday, February 2.

President Emmanuel Macron and the Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces General François Lecointre “took the decision to increase the number of troops deployed in the Sahel-Saharan strip to about 5,100, an increase of 600 soldiers,” Parly said in a statement.

Around 200 additional troops had already deployed to the region last month, but Lecointre said on January 22 that he was asking Macron for further French reinforcements accompanied by “additional logistical and intelligence” support.

“This is a major effort for the French Armed Forces: most of the reinforcements will be deployed in the so-called “three borders” zone between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger,” Parly said.

“Another part of these reinforcements will be committed directly to the G5 Sahel forces to accompany them in combat,” she added.

Parly noted that Chad “should soon be deploying an additional battalion” in the tri-border zone within the regional G5 Sahel Joint Force (FCG5S), which also includes troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania.

She also acknowledged last week’s announcement that the Czech Republic intends to send 60 troops to join the new France-led special operations Task Force Takuba in the Sahel.

“Further announcements should be made shortly, depending on the political and parliamentary calendars of the countries wishing to join us,” Parly added.

France has for months been trying to build support for Takuba. Parly said in November that France expected the new force to deploy in Mali by 2020. The Czech Republic is only the second country to publicly say it intends to to join the new task force, after Estonia said in November that it would deploy troops to Takuba. A defense ministry spokesperson told The Defense Post then that special forces will deploy to Mali in the second half of the year and that force will “assist, advise and accompany” the Malian Armed Forces.

Lecointre has said that Takuba will declare initial military capability in the summer and “will be fully operational by the autumn.”

Parly also said that France favors extending the mandate of the European Union Training Mission in Mali to “enable it to cooperate with the armed forces of other G5 countries and thus provide a larger part of their training.”

EUTM-Mali’s main objectives is to improve FAMa capacity, but it also works to support the operationalization of the FCG5S through dedicated advice and training. It has a mandate until May 2020 and costs around €20 million ($22 million) per year to maintain. More than 14,000 Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) personnel have been trained since the mission was established in February 2013.France in the Sahel

The French military presence in the Sahel began in 2013 with Operation Serval in Mali, and evolved in August 2014 into Operation Barkhane, which has a mandate for counter-terrorism operations across the region. Roughly 4,700 French troops are currently deployed, and they focus activity in insurgent-hit Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, working alongside local troops and other international operations, including the FCG5S and the United Nations stabilization mission in Mali, MINUSMA.

On January 13, Macron and the leaders of the G5 Sahel states announced a new Coalition for the Sahel which will see increased coordination between French and local forces focused on the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border zone and targeting Islamic State as a priority. The new Sahel Coalition will see Barkhane and FCG5S forces operating under joint command.

Parly said on Sunday that Macron had told the defense council this week that “this major step in our engagement in the Sahel must mark a turning point both in the mobilization of our European partners and the ramp-up of G5 forces.”

Barkhane already has an international dimension, with European partners contributing troops and equipment. Denmark has deployed two Merlin helicopters and Estonia is to almost double the size of its Barkhane contingent this year. Chinook helicopters from the United Kingdom currently support the operation.Islamist insurgents in the Sahel

The complex insurgency in the Sahel began in Mali in 2012, when a Tuareg separatist uprising was exploited by al-Qaeda-linked extremists who took key cities in the desert north. Former colonial power France began its Operation Serval military intervention the following year, driving the jihadists from the towns.

But the militant groups morphed into more nimble formations operating in rural areas, and the insurgency gradually spread to central and southern regions of Mali and across the borders into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Many armed groups including Islamic State are active in the Sahel region, but the majority of attacks are attributed to JNIM, which formed in March 2017 from a merger of several smaller groups. JNIM’s leadership has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Since May 2019, ISIS has attributed insurgent activities in the Sahel area to ISWAP, its West Africa Province affiliate that split from Boko Haram in 2016, rather than to Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. ISWAP’s main area of operations is the Lake Chad area of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Macron has said the Sahel Coalition would prioritize the fight against ISIS in the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger tri-border area because it is the most dangerous.